


Life Model Decoy

by celtic7irish



Series: Tony Stark Bingo 2019 [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Author just had fun with this one, Endgame Fix-It, F/M, Gen, Morgan's POV in Chapter 3, Sort Of, but only for Tony, female!Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 13:34:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20210593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celtic7irish/pseuds/celtic7irish
Summary: Tony wakes up after Thanos is defeated. But not everything is as he remembers it.  Luckily, the important things are.





	1. Call My Name and Wake Me Up

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Tony Stark Bingo Square T1: Recasting: Chromatic Recasting/Genderswap Casting

Tony groaned as he regained consciousness, his head pounding like somebody had thrown him into a building. Had somebody thrown him into a building? He honestly couldn’t remember. But his head was killing him, like a migraine, but compounded ten-fold. He hadn’t felt this bad since the first time he’d gone on a bender that had ended with him in the hospital, having his stomach pumped after he’d gotten alcohol poisoning.

But other than his brain feeling like it’d been ground through glass, Tony didn’t feel terrible. No aching joints or fatigued muscles. In fact, he felt better than he had in a long time. Slowly, he blinked open his eyes, staring up at a very familiar ceiling. “What?” he managed to ask. A moment later, his eyes widened and his hand came up to his throat. “No, seriously, what the hell?” he said, listening to the odd echo in his tone. “Friday?”

_“Please remain still for another twenty-three seconds, Boss,”_ the AI’s voice requested. _“Calibration is nearly complete.”_

“Calibration?” Tony asked, twitching involuntarily. “What calibration? What are you doing?” He trusted Friday, he really did, but she was starting to scare him. He couldn’t remember what had happened to land him here in the workshop, his head pounding and his AI sounding worried and determined. 

_“I enacted Protocol End of Days, Boss,”_ Friday told him grimly. _“Unfortunately, the body was incomplete, and so I had to find a substitute. The Iron Man gauntlets are not dexterous enough to complete the finer detailed work on the Life Model Decoy.”_

Tony’s heart leapt into his throat as he had a brief moment of panic. The End of Days Protocol was to be enacted if he was killed in action, but his knowledge was still needed. If Friday had instigated the protocol, then the fight wasn’t over yet. And he still couldn’t move. “Friday, what happened?” he asked.

_“Boss?”_ Friday asked, sounding worried. _“What do you remember?”_

“Nothing,” Tony snapped out, then winced. His AI didn’t deserve his anger. She was working with the most recent backup he had, which had last been done on..._April 20, 2019, 11:15:32._

“Friday, replay events of significance from April 20, 2019, 11:15:32 to present,” he ordered. He didn’t know how much time had passed since then, but he needed a condensed version, and he needed it now.

Images came to life above him, flickering quickly. Tony watched as the Avengers approached him for help, as he figured out how to retrieve the Stones, as they all disappeared into the quantum realm, in theory moving back through time using Pym Particles, as they all returned minus one. He watched as Bruce-Hulk snapped his fingers and restored the population, the half of the universe that had been lost when Thanos had first used the gauntlet. He saw the final battle, saw himself take the stones from Thanos, saw him wield them to do to Thanos what he had done to the universe, saw him wipe out Thanos and all his creatures in a single snap. 

And then...and then he got to experience the weird sensation of watching himself die of radiation poisoning. At least it had been quick, he supposed, watching the time stamp with a sort of morbid fascination as Peter told him good-bye, as Pepper told him it was okay, that he could rest, that they’d be all right, that the universe was safe thanks to him. He felt a sort of gratitude that Morgan hadn’t been around, that she hadn’t had to watch her daddy die in front of her.

When the images finally stopped, Tony found that he could move, and he propped himself up carefully, noting that while he could tell the exact angle he was sitting at, and could feel the pressure on his limbs, he couldn’t feel the cold of the table underneath him. His senses told him how much oxygen was in there air, but he couldn’t detect the smell of machine parts and oil. This body was still incomplete, but that was because Tony had thought he’d have more time. Or perhaps he’d thought that Friday would like to discover things like hot and cold and smell on her own.

Something finally dawned on him, and Tony looked down at himself in minor horror. “You...put me in your body,” he said at last, at a loss for words. “The body that was meant for you.” So that Friday would never, ever have to experience what Jarvis had, would have a physical body to house her code in, wouldn’t have to rely on _Tony_ to protect her. 

The only problem with that?

Friday’s body was distinctively _female_.

_“Sorry, Boss,”_ Friday apologized again. _“It was the most complete body I could find that suited the necessary parameters.”_ Which, okay, that was fair. Tony’s memories couldn’t exactly be downloaded into one of the Iron Man armors. Friday was right about that much, at least: the Iron Man gauntlets were too thick and unwieldy for the fine detailing that Tony would need to complete the LMD.

He lifted his right hand, testing the movement. The fingers were fully articulated, the wrist supple and flexible. Tony had worked very hard to get the joints and proportions just right, so that Friday’s robot body was as human as possible. “Do I have clothes down here?” he wondered. He was pretty sure he hadn’t picked out clothes for Friday, figuring that was something she could do on her own when she was ready. Or maybe he’d ask Pepper for suggestions. Tony would never presume to know what women liked.

_“I took the liberty of having some clothes ordered, similar in style to your own clothing, Boss, but designed for the female form.”_

Tony nodded with a small smile. “Thanks,” he murmured, still adjusting to the fact that he now had a female voice. He supposed he could change his voice to be more masculine, but that would probably be even weirder. Besides, this was still Friday’s body. He was just borrowing it, temporarily.

There was a chiming noise, and Tony turned towards the workshop doors as they swished open, admitting the love of his life. “Pepper, darling, love of my life, light of my days, sun to my moon, how are you?” he asked, twisting around to face her and nearly toppling off the table, off-balance.

“Oh my god, Tony!” Pepper cried, running to him and throwing her arms around him. Tony hugged her back automatically, adjusting to the weird sensation of having breasts pressed against Pepper’s chest. “Friday told me you were awake, and I had hoped, but I didn’t know if you’d know who I was or anything. I mean, she told me you downloaded your memories or something!” She was crying, large silent tears, her shoulders shaking. Tony’s heart broke at the distress he’d caused her.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, over and over, one hand wrapped around her waist and the other carefully - so, so carefully, he couldn’t judge his strength just yet - stroking Pepper’s hair. 

Pepper shook her head. “Don’t apologize,” she said. “You did what you had to, you saved everybody.”

“Yes,” Tony agreed, because what else could he say? He couldn’t even promise not to do it again, and Pepper must’ve known that because she gave a hiccuping laugh and stepped back. Tony released her quickly, and Pepper blinked at him, her lashes clumped together with tears and her makeup streaking down her face. Tony thought she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. Except for, perhaps, his daughter.

“Morgan?” Tony asked.

Pepper gave him a shaky smile and held out a bundle of clothes. “Get dressed, and I’ll take you to see her,” she offered.

Tony took the clothes.


	2. Where Do I Go From Here?

Tony stared at the results in dismay, not liking what they were telling him. But he’d run thousands of simulations, and they all said the same thing. Attempting to transfer his memories again risked corrupting them entirely, like a computer file that had been written over one too many times.

“Sorry, Friday,” he apologized softly.

_“Boss...”_ Friday trailed off, but Tony knew she wanted to apologize, too. She worried that perhaps she had moved too quickly, had missed something during the transfer, had somehow damaged the file containing his memories. But even if she had, she had still done the impossible. Tony was here, having lost only four months of time. Compared to Steve Rogers or Barnes, who had lost decades, that was nothing. But it was starting to look more and more like he was going to be stuck in a female body for the foreseeable future. Of course, it was a robot body, so it could be altered again, but if Tony was honest, he hadn’t liked much about himself anyhow. Perhaps he’d been given more than one new lease on life.

Barnes stepped up behind him, looking at the holoscreens. “No luck?” he asked sympathetically, and Tony shrugged. “I’m sorry,” Bucky murmured. “Princess Shuri couldn’t help?”

“Princess Shuri has more things to worry about right now than a physical body,” Tony said distractedly, aware of the way his voice was deep for a female, throaty, but still very much female. He had given the body several voice options, and had cycled through them one at a time before finally settling on this one. He wasn’t Friday; using her voice had seemed wrong, somehow.

“So what now?” Bucky asked, and Tony was grateful for the change of subject.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I mean, Tony Stark is still declared legally dead.” There had been so many discussions on that topic, but as far as Tony was concerned, he’d died. This was just...prolonging the inevitable. And if he was being honest, being dead was something of a relief. And all of the important people, the ones that mattered, knew what had happened. Rhodey and Pepper and Morgan, Happy and Peter. Bucky.

“D’you plan to stay hidden in the Tower or the Compound forever?” Bucky asked, leaning subtly into him. Tony leaned back, letting them support each other. When Sam had told him what Steve had done, that he’d gone back and gotten his happily ever after, Tony had been furious. But without a target, the anger had eventually given way to resignation. Steve got his happy ending, and Bucky was left behind to live with more than seven decades of Hydra control.

Tony sometimes wondered if there was another Bucky in Steve’s altered timeline that he’d saved, that hadn’t fallen, but without talking to the guy, he guessed he’d never know. Steve had passed the shield on to Sam, and that was fine. Tony had made contingencies of his own, ones involving a teenage boy. Happy hadn’t been thrilled, but Tony knew better. If anybody was going to have what it took to use Tony’s tech for good, it was Peter Parker. He only hoped that the boy did better with EDITH than he had with Friday. Happy was keeping him updated.

“I’m retired,” Tony said at last. “But that doesn’t mean I want to stop creating. There’s always something else out there, a new threat, a stronger enemy.” He swallowed. “I want to make sure we’re ready.”

“Then keep creating,” Bucky stated, as if it was that simple. And maybe, Tony realized, it was. “I mean, Tony Stark is dead, and you’re stuck in a dame’s body. So become someone else, a relative or an employee. I’m pretty sure you can create a convincin’ backstory for whoever you wanna be.”

Tony considered it, and realized that Bucky was right. There was a new Captain America now. The New Avengers. Rhodey could take his place as Iron Man. And Parker? The kid was brilliant. If he and Shuri ever teamed up, they’d be unstoppable. They’d be fine without him. Stark Industries would be fine without him, too.

All of which narrowed down into a single fact. Tony could be whoever he wanted to be, do whatever he wanted to do, and trust that the world would keep turning. Not that he’d ever stop working in the background; he couldn’t just stand by and do _nothing_. But maybe, maybe he could start over, start fresh. He didn’t have to be Tony Stark: genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. He didn’t have to be the Merchant of Death, or Iron Man.

He smiled. “You know what?” he said. “I think you might be onto something.”

Bucky grinned back. “Usually am,” he said lightly.

Tony laughed.


	3. Building the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan's daddy is the coolest dad ever!

Morgan watched in awe through the glass as her father worked on the new armor. Or her aunt, rather. Mommy had said she had to refer to her daddy as an aunt, because her daddy was retired and didn’t want anyone to know that he was still alive. Morgan was okay with that, because that meant that she got to spend a lot of time with her Aunt Natasha. She wondered sometimes why her daddy had picked that name...Natasha Carbonell. But Uncle Clint had told her stories about his best friend, and she thought maybe that was why. Morgan only had a few memories of Miss Natasha, but she remembered thinking that the lady was really, really strong and smart.

And daddy’s last name was grandmama’s maiden name. Morgan thought it was stupid that people had to change their last names when they got married. Her mom was still Potts, though she said it was really Potts-Stark. Morgan guessed that was okay, because now her mommy had two last names, instead of just one.

Her daddy looked up towards the ceiling, and then out the glass doors. His smile was really pretty, all straight and white. “Come on in, sunshine!” he called out as the doors opened, and Morgan hurried into the lab to wrap her arms around her daddy’s waist. “You did tell your mom you were coming down here, right?” Her daddy’s voice was nice like this, too, though she liked his old one better.

She nodded. “Yes. Mommy said it was okay, as long as you weren’t doing anything dangerous, and Miss Friday said you weren’t, so it would be okay if I came in!” she said excitedly, looking up at her daddy before turning to look at what he’d been working on.

The armor was really pretty, still the red and gold that her daddy liked the best. But it was built for her daddy’s new body. Morgan looked up at her daddy, who smiled and nodded, then turned back to the armor, reaching out to touch it. “What’s this one called?” she asked.

“Iron Heart,” her daddy said. Morgan smiled; it was a really pretty name. Her mommy had one named Rescue, and she’d already made her parents promise that she could have her own suit of armor one day, though daddy told her she’d have to make it herself if she wanted it that badly. But that was okay; it was better that way, because then she’d get to pick her own colors.

Morgan nodded decisively. “It’s a good name,” she said.

“Yeah?” her daddy asked.

“Yes,” she agreed emphatically. “Because you made it with lots of love. I can tell.” 

Her daddy grew suspiciously quiet, and when Morgan looked up, she saw a look on her daddy’s face that meant he (she? Morgan still got confused sometimes) would be crying. If the robot body could cry, of course.

“You’re really something, kiddo,” her daddy said, ruffling her hair. She ducked out of the way with a scowl, and her daddy just smiled at her. Morgan remembered that she had another reason for coming down.

“Mommy says you should come upstairs for dinner,” she said. “Uncle Rhodey and Uncle Happy are gonna be there.” She smiled brightly. “And Uncle Bucky promised, too!” She liked Uncle Bucky; he was super strong and could carry her on his shoulders for a really long time when she got tired of walking.

“What? Just Uncle Bucky?” her daddy teased, picking her up and tossing her lightly into the air before catching her again. Morgan laughed, wrapping her arms around her daddy’s neck and settling in for the ride upstairs. Daddy held her easily; his new body never got tired, or achy, not like the old one. Morgan wondered if her daddy would make her a robot body if she asked. Mommy probably wouldn’t allow it anyhow, even if daddy said yes. And maybe it wouldn’t be for the best, since daddy said that there was a lot he missed about being human, like being able to feel how soft Morgan’s hair was, or being able to drink coffee.

As his daddy carried her upstairs to dinner, Morgan looked back towards the workshop, staring at the new armor until it disappeared behind the elevator doors. Iron Heart.


End file.
